Zimbabwe Media: Mugabe to Mnangagwa transition - A PUBLICATION BY MEDIA MONITORS
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Zimbabwe Media: Mugabe to Mnangagwa transition
A PUBLICATION BY MEDIA MONITORS
Table of Contents
FOREWORD. ............................................................................................................................................................ 2
EDITOR’S NOTE . ....................................................................................................................................................... 3
REFLECTIONS ON REPORTAGE, BY NJABULO NCUBE.................................................................................................... 4
SELF-CENSORSHIP AND ZIMBABWE’S MEDIA, BY NEVANJI MADANHIRE. ...................................................... 7
MEDIA AND ZIMBABWE’S POLITICAL TRANSITION, BY DR. STANLEY TSARWE .................................................... 10
MEDIA STRUCTURES AND NEWS PRODUCTION, BY NIGEL NYAMUTUMBU ................................................... 13
REPORTING THE MILITARY INTERVENTION, BY PATIENCE ZIRIMA ........................................................................ 16
ELECTION REPORTING: A DEFINING MOMENT, BY MEDIA MONITORS..................................................................... 19
SOCIAL MEDIA IN ZIMBABWE’S POLITICAL TRANSITION, BY STEPHEN MANJORO ............................................ 22
EFFECT OF MEDIA LAWS ON REPORTING, BY JACKIE CHIKAKANO ......................................................................... 25
SAFETY AND SECURITY OF JOURNALISTS, BY ERIC MATINGO ............................................................................... 28
MEDIA, GENDER AND INCLUSIVITY, BY SHARON MAWONI....................................................................................... 31
JOURNALISTS AND POLITICS, BY NEVANJI MADANHIRE ......................................................................................... 33
UNDER THE WAVE OF FAKE NEWS, BY JOHN MASUKU .............................................................................................. 36
MEDIA FREEDOM ON - AND OFF-LINE, BY DR. WELLINGTON GADZIKWA ............................................................ 39
ZIMBABWE’S MEDIA GOING FORWARD, BY PRISIEL SAMU .................................................................................... 42
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................................................... 44
C H A N G E O F G U A R D • Z I M B A B W E M E D I A : M U G A B E T O M N A N G A G W A T R A N S I T I O N 1Foreword
Media Monitors has been monitoring the media’s performance around Zimbabwe’s political transition for a year (November
2017 to November 2018) gathering empirical evidence.
This is in line with the organization’s mandate to promote high levels of reporting and access to quality information.
This research has been informed by results of the monitoring which have shown that the local journalism platforms have faced
numerous difficulties in reporting the country’s political transition. These challenges include, unbalanced coverage, inaccurate
presentation of facts, marginalization of weaker groups among others.
To enhance debate and understanding around the performance of the media, Media Monitors invited contributions from
Zimbabwean journalists and academics to reflect and give their perspectives on a range of subjects.
This publication is edited by renowned journalist, Cris Chinaka, and is a culmination of collaboration between Media Monitors
and the contributors. It offers multiple insights on issues that Zimbabwean media should be focusing on.
The views expressed by these contributions are those of the authors but none the less enrich our appreciation of Zimbabwean
journalism. They are also a celebration of academic freedom even where the status of media freedom is being questioned.
Media Monitors is grateful to OSISA for sponsorship to enable this publication.
We hope that it contributes to the curation of knowledge and views about an important subject.
A P U B L I C A T I O N B Y
...............................................................................
2 C H A N G E O F G U A R D • Z I M B A B W E M E D I A : M U G A B E T O M N A N G A G W A T R A N S I T I O NZimbabwe media needs to
change to survive
Editor’s Note
Zimbabwe’s mainstream media is in the dock. It stands we are obliged to take corrective measures.”
accused of poor service, but - alongside many politicians “We must remind those behind the current treacherous
- it sees little that’s fatally flawed in its general condition. shenanigans, that when it comes to protecting matters of our
revolution the military will not hesitate to step in”.
Like elsewhere around the world, the legacy media’s value is
under the spotlight over a range of old-age standard questions Army tanks moved onto the streets a couple of days after the
such as accuracy, balance, fairness and relevance. general’s statement, and within a week Mugabe had - under
threat of impeachment - surrendered power to Mnangagwa, a
This book - Change of Guard, Zimbabwe Media: Mugabe deputy president he had fired earlier in the same month
to Mnangagwa Transition - is a collection of reflections by of November.
some Zimbabwean journalists and academics on some of the
issues the media is facing today. This research work and collection shows that, from a media
perspective, Zimbabwe’s transition has so far largely resembled
Is the media covering the Zimbabwean story in its fullness, its “a change with continuity” - securing ZANU-PF in office and is
breadth, depth and diversity? Is the reporting sound and going on addressing the challenges before it in a manner that
sober, strong and sensitive or superficial, shrill and sensational? does not threaten its power.
Can the world count on the media to recount these stories without For the media, these challenges, documented in this publication
getting lost in hyper-partisan politics and hyper- are legal, ethical, structural and operational.
personalisation in the presentation of national problems?
These are also about addressing skills and capacity in Zimbabwe’s
This collection covering a year-long political transition, from former mainstream media.
President Robert Mugabe’s fall, to his successor Emmerson
Mnangagwa’s first year in power, includes a scrutiny of the
operating political and legal environment for the media.
It also covers issues of self-censorship, gender, freedom of
expression, social media and the rise of “fake”, false and misleading
news.
Ironically the starting point of the focus of this collection is on a
dramatic event which Zimbabwe’s state-controlled media, did not
and could not cover while Mugabe was still in power.
On the 13th of November 2017, Zimbabwe Defence Forces
Commander, General Constantino Chiwenga, addressed a press
conference expressing the army’s grave concern over “reckless
utterances by politicians from the ruling party denigrating the
military which is causing alarm and despondency within the rank
and file”.
In a show of strength, Chiwenga was flanked by dozens of fellow
generals as he warned Mugabe against “the purging within ZANU
PF of members of the party with a liberation background” which
he said was being masterminded by “counter revolutionaries”
who had infiltrated the ruling party to destroy it from within. C RIS C HINAKA
While it was beyond doubt that with this warning, the army was Journalist, Media Trainer and Consultant. Editor-In-Chief,
stepping directly into the power struggle that was raging in the ZimFact - Zimbabwe’s first national Fact-Checking Platform, which
governing party, the media was slow in picking and was launched in March 2018. Worked for Reuters International News
interpreting this. Agency for 25 years, to 2015. Was Bureau Chief for Reuters Zimbabwe
for 20 years until 2015.
This was a clear signal that Zimbabwe was on the verge of a
dramatic power shift, which General Chiwenga underlined by A board member of several media lobby and professional
declaring that: “It is pertinent to restate that the Zimbabwe organisations, including MISA-Zimbabwe (Chairperson of the Board
Defence Forces remain the major stockholder in respect to the of Trustees), Deputy Chairperson of the Management Board of the
gains of the liberation struggle and when these are threatened Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe (VMCZ).
C H A N G E O F G U A R D • Z I M B A B W E M E D I A : M U G A B E T O M N A N G A G W A T R A N S I T I O N 3Reflection on reportage during the
transitional period:
Factors that influenced journalists’ and editors’ stance on issues
Picture Credit: Getty Images
When longtime Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe The media reported on the need for sweeping electoral reforms
fell during the night of November 17 2017 after 37 so as to ensure an outcome that would be universally accepted.
years at the helm two factors came immediately into The media reported on contestants, that is, parties and
play regarding the way the media would cover the candidates, and their manifestos. But the success or failure of
transition from his rule to a new military-backed this endevour was quantified by observer missions which
administration. These were the military fear-factor and roundly condemned Zimbabwean as not up to scratch.
media capture both which grossly encumbered the
media environment. Dangerous minefields
Media’s role is critical in society, especially during transititional As editors and their journalists trudged along in reporting the
processes but this role can only be fairly executed in an Zimbabwe electoral story, they were mindful of dangers and
environment conducive to the free flow of information and minefields that lay ahead; just over six months after the ouster
ideas, and devoid of fear and intimidation. of Mugabe in a military coup which catapulted into power his
former aide and deputy, Emmerson Mnangagwa. There was
The media’s role during the electoral cycles surrounding palpable fear among media practitioners of the new military
Zimbabwe's July 30 elections was to provide information on establishment that emerged. It was rare to find in the newsrooms
the electoral process by giving oversight over the legal editors and journalists from the private media after hours.
framework; the voting system; voter education; voters’ Unconfirmed reports were abound military intelligence had
registration; the political environment; and the electoral body, put under surveillance all newsrooms thought to be averse
the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), and, very importantly to the coup.
to assess its independence and credibility.
4 C H A N G E O F G U A R D • Z I M B A B W E M E D I A : M U G A B E T O M N A N G A G W A T R A N S I T I O NA number of editors from the private press briefly sought provide balanced information considering that the military had
sanctuary in neighboring South Africa during the coup in fear now become the sole source and distributor of government
of being caught up in the dragnet "to arrest criminals around information. The seizure of the public broadcaster had an
Mugabe." In hindsight, some of them were justified to take adverse impact on the reportage of the transitional period, the
the gap to South Africa as they were, rightly or wrongly, linked July 2018 elections and the aftermath of the polls, particularly
to the ZANU PF G40 faction that was said to be vehemently in the wake of the gunning down of six unarmed civilians in
opposed to Mnangagwa succeeding Mugabe. the streets of Harare on August 1 2018.
When the army seized power in the dead of the night in Protests erupted on the day after the main opposition deemed
November 2017, Major General Sibusiso Moyo, who announced ZEC was delaying the announcement of elections in order to
the coup on national television, reminded all and sundry that manipulate the results. The protests turned violent and property
the media should report "responsibly." To editors and, by was destroyed. The government deployed the army to quell
extension, their journalists, this was a loaded statement which the violence resulting in the death of six people. The reporting
literally sent shivers down the spines of many a media personnel, of the events of that day showed how constrained journalists
including publishers and even vendors. were to report the truth. The private media picked up only the
six deaths and neglected to report the preceding violence,
Uncharted territory while the public media picked on the violent protests and
destruction of property and underplayed the deaths.
Since independence in 1980, media practitioners were in
uncharted territory. Should they tell it as it was and be damned, The centralisation of information by the military which rendered
or conform to the safe dictates of political correctness? the Ministry of Media, Information and Publicity virtually
Editors and journalists were in a dilemma whether to call comatose, created a huge vacuum for the media, leading to
Mugabe's ouster a coup or not a coup. This was compounded the peddling of false news and fake narratives, not only in the
by the fact that the change of government had been universally mainstream traditional media but also on social media.
accepted. Worldview seemed to be that any change of Editors and journalists, required by media ethics to be
government in Harare was necessarily good. With Moyo's professional and ethical at all times even as they chase deadlines,
chilling "report responsibly" statement still echoing in their threw caution to the wind. Instead of staying above the fray
minds, the word coup was avoided like the plague with most they became part of it. It was then that the private media
journalists preferring to use the new government’s mantra that turned against the military-backed administration and began
it was a military intervention that led to a “new dispensation” to refer to it more as the “junta” with all the negative
taking over the reins of power. connotations accompanying the word. The public media dug
in, in support of the administration.
Moyo's statement on national television at a time when all
citizens were glued to their screens to watch the drama of Hard task
Mugabe's power dissipating, resulted in outright self-censorship
not only in the state-controlled public media but also in the Impartiality became a difficult task for most journalists during
private press. the elections due to the fear factor posed by the military with
some previously respected media personnel acting as political
The situation was worsened by the assault of journalists who commissars of ZANU PF and MDC Alliance, the two main
went to the army headquaters at KG6 Barracks to cover another contesting parties. It was common to see state media journalists
mid-night conference by the military elite. and support staff clad in the campaign regalia of the main
presidential candidates, particularly Zanu PF frontman Emmerson
Dire situation Mnangagwa, clearly casting doubt on the professionalism of
Zimbabwe’s public media, something, vividly captured in several
The situation was very dire at the public broadcaster, the observer mission reports.
Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), which had been
seized by the military. It is on record that some journalists, In the end media neglected their important role of helping
specifically newscasters, were assaulted by soldiers at Pockets voters make informed choices and vote according to their free
Hill, the seat of the public broadcaster, when they took control will. Information about the electoral processes and the political
of the station. The military has remained at ZBC to this day; environment was poisoned by partisanship and the polarized
allegedly maintaining a helicopter-view of operations at the political environment. Reports on the political parties, their
public broadcaster. candidates and manifestos, became biased as journalists took
sides, so the political dynamics at play were relegated
The situation was not conducive for editors and journalists to to insignificance.
C H A N G E O F G U A R D • Z I M B A B W E M E D I A : M U G A B E T O M N A N G A G W A T R A N S I T I O N 5During the run-up to the July polls partisan coverage came to
the fore more and more. The public or state media rallied
behind the ruling party while the private media provided largely
favourable coverage to the opposition. This was a regression
to the old situation of media polarization which had in some
respects improved soon after the coup, evidenced by the
invitation of hundreds of foreign media organisations and their
journalists to cover the coup, it's aftermath, the pre- and post-
election periods.
As clearly captured in various reports of local, regional and
international observer mission reports, local reportage of the
elections in the legacy media indeed failed to meet acceptable
reporting standards, including the minimum standards outlined
in the SADC Guidelines on holding elections in a democracy.
Journalists’ role is to give their audiences factual, accurate and
balanced news and information in an impartial way; they fell
short on this during the transitional period, during the elections
and in the aftermath of the polls.
BY N JABU L O N C U BE
The Zimbabwe National Editors Forum continued nonetheless
Njabulo Ncube is the National Coordinator of the Zimbabwe National
to urge the media and journalists to stick to the basics: that
Editors Forum, former deputy Editor of Southern Eye in Bulawayo
is being professional and ethical despite the volatile operating
and former Assistant Editor of The Financial Gazette. He is also
environment and media capture, another factor which had a freelance journalist for Sunday Times, South Africa and the Legal
bearing on how the media reported the coup and elections. Monitor. Ncube sits on the board of the Voluntary Media Council
of Zimbabwe and is a former chairperson of the Media Institute of
Fighting captures Southern Africa, Zimbabwe Chapter.
ZINEF has been against media capture by any definition and
emphasised during this critical period that the editors should
always remember, despite the harsh operating circumstances,
that their real masters were the audiences not politicians,
business and owners of the media.
There was also the growing phenomenon of journalists from
different media houses joining the political fray. But ZINEF’s
position as a collective was clear on this: if one wanted to
contest in the elections, they had to first resign and then pursue
politics from outside the newsroom, and if they lost, they could
not come back immediately because they already had vested
interest in the political formations they tried to represent.
Although journalists have a constitutional right to get involved
in politics, it must not compromise the media profession and
ethical journalism.
In conclusion the Zimbabwe traditional media exposed itself
during the period under review. A kind of operation to restore
sanity and professionalism is needed. Editors and journalists
should collectively fight to defend media freedom and
professional and ethical journalism without fear or favour.
6 C H A N G E O F G U A R D • Z I M B A B W E M E D I A : M U G A B E T O M N A N G A G W A T R A N S I T I O NIs self-censorship a problem in
Zimbabwe’s media?
... and how does it manifest in reporting local tensions, conflict?
Picture Credit: Google Images
Zimbabwe has been scarred by conflict since its Gukurahundi, a period between 1982-87 when former President
founding in 1980 and the media has partly borne the
brunt of the conflict particularly since the turn of the Robert Mugabe sent into southwestern Zimbabwe a crack
millennium. North-Korea-trained military brigade to suppress an insurgency
by a disgruntled unit of former freedom fighters within a largely
To thrive, media practitioners, as a defence mechanism, have Ndebele speaking region. The enormity of Gukurahundi has
fitted themselves into enclaves that defend certain beliefs and been classified as genocide by the Internationl Association of
standpoints and “distance themselves from a full awareness Genocide Scholars. [3]
of unpleasant thoughts, feelings and behaviours”. [1]
The people generally referred to as Shona are themselves hardly
This has resulted in the polarization of the media that has a homogenous lot. Intra-Shona rivalry is founded on regionalism.
driven journalists into self-censorship. During the liberation war of the 1970s their “struggles within
the struggle” were documented and have continued unto this
“Self-censorship is the act of censoring or classifying one's day. But the intraparty struggles became ever fiercer as each
own work, out of fear of, or deference to, the sensibilities of sub-grouping positioned itself to take over after
others, without overt pressure from any specific party or Mugabe’s demise.
institution of authority.” [2]
There has also been some underlying racial tension over the
Which conflicts? years. Racial divisions although always under the surface since
the 1970s war were accentuated with the implementation of
Which conflicts have shaped the Zimbabwean media and how land reform beginning at the turn of the millennium which
have they achieved this? according to the former Minister of Justice the late Eddison
Zvobgo became a “racist enterprise” . Mugabe argued land
Ethnic-based suspicions thrive twenty years after the end of reform was done to correct historical imbalances where prior
C H A N G E O F G U A R D • Z I M B A B W E M E D I A : M U G A B E T O M N A N G A G W A T R A N S I T I O N 7to independence the white community in Rhodesia had enjoyed Cameroon and South Africa wrote:
privileges - primarily land ownership - denied Africans. But
analysts said it was the vengeful wrath of a despot unused to “One of the main findings of that study was that the media
strong political opposition which the white community have assumed a partisan, highly politicised, militant role in
generally backed. Africa. They have done so by dividing citizens into the righteous
and the wicked, depending on their political party, ideological,
Political divisions regional, cultural or ethnic belonging.”
The political divisions that intensified with the formation of Using the Cameroonian experience Nyamnjoh ”sought to
the MDC in 1999 have been the most divisive conflict in the understand how scapegoatism, partisanship, and regional and
past two decades. The fight for democracy that started in ethnic tendencies in the media have affected their liberal
earnest when Mugabe sought to impose a one-party state democratic responsibility to act as honest, fair and neutral
system has polarised the whole Zimbabwean community. mediators - accessible to all and sundry.” [6]
Mugabe made it clear after winning the independence elections
in 1980 that he wished to establish a one-party Marxist-Leninist Journalists in both the private and public media are also guilty
state and he preferred to rule that state for the rest of his life. of this groupthink. The private media rarely ever scrutinize the
Although it became impossible and impractical to force the actions of opposition leadership. The same is true of journalists
ideology on the country, he all but managed to achieve his in the public sector who neither question nor speak truth to
main goal of life-presidency until he was deposed in a coup power. Every issue is treated in a way that avoids offending
in November 2017. But that coup, which seemed to get universal certain sensibilities.
support at first, has divided the country in ways that make it
difficult to achieve reconciliation in the short-to-medium term. This is a form of self-censorship called political correctness,
defined as, “conforming to a belief that language and practices
The Zimbabwean conflict is therefore multifaceted: it is about which could offend political sensibilities should
ethnicity, regionalism, and racialism and, above all, it is about be eliminated.” [7]
power politics - the distribution of power and interests.
This political correctness has gravely undermined Zimbabwean
This many-sided nature of the conflict has compartmentalized media because it amounts to misinformation. Media houses
the profession of journalism as reporters respond to an urge across the political divide have peddled false or inaccurate
to belong to groups and defend their standpoints. information in a manner that amounts to deliberate deception.
An IWPR report says, “Many reporters feel strongly about their A simple example of this during the run-up to the general
kin and their homeland. This is natural, especially when they elections of 31 July 2018 was the estimates of the numbers
may be under threat. Journalists are, after all, human too, and who attended political rallies. The words “bumper” and “paltry”
often identify - consciously or not - with their community, which came into vogue. The private media, generally pro-MDC-Alliance,
can be defined by region, language, religion, ethnicity described or gave the impression that MDC-A rallies were
or nationality.” [4] always larger that Zanu-PF by using “bumper” to describe the
former, and “paltry” to describe the latter. The opposite was
But this identification with kin, or with a single cause, has true in the public media.
brought about a partisan approach to reporting that conflicts
with journalistic principles of objectivity and balance. Journalists Another major theme of election reportage was the organization
have sacrificed accuracy, impartiality and fairness of the rallies. The public media attributed the huge crowds at
for groupthink. MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa’s rallies to the “bussing”
of supporters while the private media claimed coercion as the
“Groupthink is the practice of thinking or making decisions as reason behind Mnangagwa’s huge rallies. It could have been
a group in a way that discourages creativity or individual both but reporters did not bring balance to their reports.
responsibility. Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that
occurs within a group of people, in which the desire for harmony Common headlines in the run-up to elections were predictable
or conformity in the group results in an irrational or dysfunctional
decision-making outcome.” [5] • Mnangagwa rally flops , Zanu-PF in panic
mode - Business Daily
The polarization of the Zimbabwean media should be viewed • MDC Alliance demo flops The Herald
in the context of groupthink. • Chamisa gets massive boost - The Standard
• Chamisa's Masvingo rally to attract 50 000 people -
The situation is not peculiar to Zimbabwe. In 2005 Francis B NewsDay Zimbabwe
Nyamnjoh in a paper titled Racism, Ethnicity and the Media in
Africa: Reflections, inspired by studies of xenophobia in
8 C H A N G E O F G U A R D • Z I M B A B W E M E D I A : M U G A B E T O M N A N G A G W A T R A N S I T I O NIt was clear private newspapers found it politically correct to References
report positively about MDC-Alliance and negatively about
Zanu-PF, while the public media also sought to report positively 1. John M. Grohol, Psy.D : Fifteen Common Defense Mechanism
about Zanu-PF and negatively against MDC-Alliance. https://psychcentral.com/lib/15-common-defense-mechanisms/
The purpose was to sway the public about which political party 2. https://www.definitions.net/definition/self-censorship
had bigger popular support. Tragically the substance of the 3. International Association of Genocide Scholars
4. IWPR: Reporting for Change: A handbook for local journalists in
messages propounded by the party leaders at the rallies was
crisis areas (2004)
lost through this disinformation. 5. Wikipedia
6. Francis B Nyamnjoh: Racism, Ethnicity and the Media in Africa:
Likewise when MDC-A president Nelson Chamisa told his rallies Reflections (2005)
that he would not accept election results in which he was not 7. https://www.merriam - webster.com/dictionary/politically%20correct
the winner, the private media did not censure him. But the 8. IWPR: Reporting for Change: A handbook for local journalists in
same private media were quick to condemn Zanu PF’s Terence crisis areas (2004)
Mukupe and Josiah Hungwe when they said Zanu PF did not 9. Martin Baron:Reuters Memorial Lecture at the University of
Oxford(2018)
stage a coup to accept the result that did not favour them only
10. IWPR: Reporting for Change: A handbook for local journalists in
a few months down the line. The public media did the exact crisis areas (2004)
reverse: condemned Chamisa without doing the same for
Mukupe and Hungwe.
The trouble with political correctness is that it not only goes
against journalism ethics but also kills individual creativity and
creative thinking as everyone is forced into consensus thinking.
Whereas consensus thinking might work in cooperatives, it
doesn’t in newsrooms because what is taken to be a consensus
position is actually the position of a dominant member who
could be the editor or any other mindguard in the group. Its
other pitfall is that members cease to take responsibly for
wrong decisions.
“When all think alike, then no one is thinking.” - Walter
Lippman (1889 - 1974). This adage aptly summarizes the
character of Zimbabwean newsrooms.
“Providing reliable information to support responsible public
debate, hold officials accountable, and inform the decisions of
the electorate - these are the underlying tasks of the media in
a democratic society.” [8]
But this was thrown out the window during the
BY N E VAN JI M ADAN HI RE
transitional period.
Nevanji Madanhire has worked as a journalist since 1990 and has
Answering a question on how journalism should be practiced
edited four national newspapers namely, Financial Gazette, Business
in the age of Donald Trump, Marty Baron, the executive editor
Tribune, The Standard and NewsDay.
of The Washington Post is famously quoted as saying: "The
answer, I believe, is pretty simple. Just do our job. Do it as it’s
supposed to be done"[9]
In other words the media’s core contribution to democracy and
development is responsible, fact-based reporting. [10] And self-
censorship flies in the face of this.
C H A N G E O F G U A R D • Z I M B A B W E M E D I A : M U G A B E T O M N A N G A G W A T R A N S I T I O N 9The media and Zimbabwe’s
political transition
Media capture by politics and business - Implications on
professionalism and quality of news
The reporting patterns in Zimbabwe reflects a state and the range of information presented to the public. As the
of media capture by both politics and business. I argue government wields significant power in ownership and control
that this capture has a significant bearing in the manner of public media, Zimbabwe’s public media finds itself
that the media covered three recent events in compromised as regards the coverage of national issues.
Zimbabwe’s politics; that is, the November 2017 military
intervention, the July 2018 general elections and the Over the years, Zimbabwean state owned media has been
current economic crisis. accused of being captured by politicians judging by its cozy
and uncritical relationship with the ruling party, while the
Capture by politics and advertisers private media also appears captured by opposition politics and
advertisers (Chuma 2013; Muneri 2012).
I argue that the Zimbabwean media’s behavior during these
three momentous events should be understood properly within During the build-up to the expulsion of President Emmerson
the political economic approach to the media (Golding and Mnangagwa,then Vice President by former President Robert
Murdock 2005; McChesney 1952) - an approach that studies Mugabe from both ZANU PF and government, state owned
the power influence exerted by advertisers, politics and owners media (print and electronic) were all complicity with ZANU PF
on media content. Media capture by politics and advertisers in denigrating Emmerson Mnangagwa, describing him as overly
ensconces Zimbabwe’s media system within Hallin and Mancini’ ambitious, disobedient and deserving to be expelled from
(2004) ‘polarised pluralist’ model. government and the party.
The notion of political pluralism is largely attributed to Hallin Coup politics and the public media
and Mancini’s comparative study of media systems between
Western and Southern European countries. They described a The public media clearly played into the hands of Robert
‘polarised pluralist’ media model as largely characterised by Mugabe as he looked firmly in control of both the party and
a high degree of political parallelism, relatively low levels of government, apparently avoiding any signs that could have
journalistic professionalism, with the state playing a central, been interpreted as siding with Mnangagwa who, at the point,
interventionist role in the media (Chuma 2013; Muneri 2012). did not seem to wield any power.
In Zimbabwe, the political system has created an environment However, when it became clear that Emmerson Mnangagwa
in which party politics and the media are closely integrated. was gaining foothold and support from the military after fleeing
As Muneri (2012) observes, the media tend to be polarised the country - and particularly during the street protests against
along party politics, with government-owned media fully Mugabe and the closed door coercion by the military for
supportive of the ruling party while privately owned newspapers Mugabe to step down - the public media began downplaying
leaning towards opposition political figures and issues. The its erstwhile hostile tone towards Mnangagwa.
media are used as instruments of struggle in conflicts, by both
the ruling party (ZANU-PF) and by opposition parties, Movement It is important to note that the state owned media shifted its
for Democratic Change (MDC) and others struggling against stance only when it became clear that the levers of power
each other. Thus, the media coverage of the three moments were shifting towards Mnangagwa and away from Robert
mentioned above mirrors the bifurcated nature of Mugabe. The state media changed from constructing
national politics. Mnangagwa as a villain, to describing him as the victim, and
later, the hero who would come back to save Zimbabwe after
The public media married to ruling party Mugabe’s ruinous political antics. There was also no attempt
to critically engage with questions over whether this transition
Within the political economic perspective, media ownership may be viewed as a coup or not, despite growing
and control are critical in terms of understanding media content debates elsewhere.
10 C H A N G E O F G U A R D • Z I M B A B W E M E D I A : M U G A B E T O M N A N G A G W A T R A N S I T I O NIt is the role of the media to critically engage with audiences to wean itself from what was clearly a cozy relationship with
on matters of public concern, particularly issues that ordinary the ruling party and the state. Zimbabwean public media has
members of the public may not have clear comprehension. In never been critical of the state even in cases where the state
view of the public media’s consistently uncritical reportage of might have been perceived as having failed in its discharge of
these issues, and its overt allegiance with the winning side, public administration. The embedding and capture of the public
the public media clearly compromised journalistic cannons of media within the fold of state and party politics continue to
neutrality, objectivity and independence. manifest to the present day.
It is important to also highlight that the crisis of the public Private media
media in Zimbabwe is compounded by the conflation between
the state and the party as ZANU PF has control and dominance In addition to insights provided by the political economic
in government, giving it unbridled latitude of control over state approach to the media, it is also important to note that the
institutions, including the public media. context of the development of the Zimbabwean private media
has a particular historical imperative of the early 1990s
Fighting for the party, 2018 elections democratization wave in which the African public sphere is
seen to have been opened up in response to global pressures
The July 2018 elections showed how Zimbabwe’s public media to privatize national institutions and open up the media to
played into the hands of the sitting government - which by private entrepreneurs.
extension, is the ruling ZANU PF party.
Arguably, the political economic approach to the study of the
In various reports produced by Media Monitors Zimbabwe, the media and the drive by international financiers in the early
public media consistently gave more coverage to the ruling 1990s to privatize and democratize the media space across
party campaigns and whenever it covered the opposition, the Africa are all illustrative in providing a context within which
coverage was mostly negative. Even more critical is that some the private press developed in Zimbabwe, as well as how it
journalists from the state media left the newsroom to participate covers national events including those that I highlighted as
in party politics by campaigning for public office under ZANU central to this argument.
PF. While this might be construed as exercising political rights
by citizens as enshrined in the Constitution, the greatest Comparative to the pubic media, the Zimbabwean private
aberration of journalism principles of neutrality and media reported the November 2017 military assisted transition
independence was compromised when the same journalists in ways that are radically different. Virtually all the private press
returned to the newsroom after losing in primaries. The apparent in Zimbabwe closely reported the events leading to the expulsion
conflict of interest arising from this development is a cause for of now President Emerson Mnangagwa from both the
concern within the journalism community. government and the party, but even though it raised the critical
question over whether the military assisted transition was a
Post the July 2018 disputed elections, the public media coup or not, there seemed to be little interest in pursuing this
acknowledge a deepening economic crisis. It is the role of the debate further than celebrating Mugabe’s deposition.
press to interrogate, comment, critique and present on these
issues in ways that allow the public to make informed decisions Media business: chasing the illusive dollar
about how they can participate in government’s
developmental agenda. What was clear from this was the economic imperative
outlined by the political economic approach to the
I argue that the public media’s seemingly blind allegiance to study of the media in which the media are first and
party politics and uncritical interrogation of the contemporary foremost described as capitalist enterprises bent on
economic crisis has roots again in the conflation between making profit, and less moved by the so-called public
government and party politics. Immediately post the 1980 service imperative. More specifically, the private press
independence, the ruling party was bent on Marxism slant that was more pre-occupied by prospects of economic turn-
successfully informed the liberation struggle, and its view of around post Mugabe - a development that would bear
the public media was that it had to play a supportive and direct fruits for the already struggling media businesses.
facilitative role of government developmental agenda by being
the mouthpiece of the government’s policies. Advertisers are the lifeblood of the media, and a positive
change in the economic fortunes of the country heralds the
These developments were later responsible for a contemporary much needed advertising revenue that the private press has
form of public journalism described by Chuma (2013) as been chasing with elusive success. As Chuma noted (2005),
“patriotic journalism”. Admittedly, using public media to convey the economic challenges frustrating the viability of the media
government policy was to a large extent successful as the state business in Zimbabwe is such that the private media, focus
rolled out a successful “education for all” policy and child much of its attention to delivering value to advertisers by selling
immunization in all provinces of the country. its audiences rather than serving the public interest.
However, in response to the democratization wave in the late As such, even if the central question to the November 2017
1980s into the 1990s, the public media has never attempted
C H A N G E O F G U A R D • Z I M B A B W E M E D I A : M U G A B E T O M N A N G A G W A T R A N S I T I O N 11military assisted transition could have been on issues around the November military assisted transition, the July 2018
whether a coup would herald future coups in Zimbabwe, it Harmonised elections as well as the prevailing economic crisis.
might not have been of immediate interest to the private media Using the political economic approach to the study of the
which saw the potential turn-around of the Zimbabwean media, the study locates the problems of increasingly
economy under new leadership as a possible end to the troubles deteriorating journalism standards to the capture of the media
of media entrepreneurs in the country. by both business and politicians.
Democracy for sustainability References
During the July 2018 general elections, it is important to note Golding, P and Murdock, G. 2005. Culture, Communications and Political
Economy. In Curran, James, Gurevitch, Michael (Eds), Mass media and
that the private media was clearly critical of what it perceived
society, 4th edition. London: Hodder Arnold
as limited democratic practices in the country’s politics and
the electoral playing field. As I have stated earlier, this has Chuma, W. 2005. Zimbabwe: The media, market failure and political
much to do with the conditions under which the private press turbulence. AFRICAN Journalism Studies. 26 (1) 46-62
developed in Zimbabwe, conditions largely influenced by the
democratization wave of the early 1990s which gave more Chuma, W. 2013. The state of journalism ethics in Zimbabwe. A report
space for alternative private press to challenge dominant state produced for the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe. Harare: Zimbabwe.
hegemony purveyed by the public press.
Hallin, D. and Mancini, P. (Eds.), 2004. Comparing media systems: Three
models of Media and Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
It should be understood that a more democratic state gives
incentives for more business confidence and prospects for Muneri, C.T. 2012. Negotiating Cultural Identity in the Struggle for
investment growth which, by implication, have a positive Democracy in Zimbabwe: Post-colonial transitions and endurance. A
bearing on the private press’ advertising revenue base. Naturally, Dissertation submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the
it is in the interest of the private press that the Zimbabwean Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Communication at The University of New
state democratizes its political space, and an election is one Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, July 2012.
democratic event that lays prospects for improved
Papathanassopoulos, S. 2007. The Mediterranean or polarized pluralist
democratization. media model countries. In Terzis, G (ed.). European media governance:
national and regional dimensions. Bristol: Intellect Book, pp. 191-200
It should also be noted that the development of the Zimbabwean
private press also coincided with the development of opposition McChesney, Robert Waterman 1952 (2008-01-01). The political
politics, where the MDC carved a significant constituent of its economy of media : enduring issues, emerging dilemmas.
supporters from disgruntled workers following industry closures Monthly Review Press
and mass retrenchments. The private press, as indeed disgruntled
workers, saw opposition politics as saviors of Zimbabwe’s
economy and it naturally developed a very cozy relationship
with opposition politicians who benefitted from positive
coverage.
This is the context within which Zimbabwean private press
developed. So when we analyse the manner in which the
private press covered the July 2018 general elections - as it
did preceding elections - it is important to note that the private
press was, as usual, driven by the commercial imperative
wherein it is in the media business’ interest that the economic
fortunes of Zimbabwe improves.
The above can also not be divorced from the coverage
of the current economic crisis bedeviling the country.
The private press continue to run headlines and features BY D R S T A NL EY T S A RW E
critiquing the current political dispensation’s ability
to deliver an economic turn-around for the nation. It Dr Stanley Tsarwe is a senior lecturer of Journalism and Media Studies
does so fiercely because, as explained by the political at the University of Zimbabwe. He holds a PhD in Journalism and
economic approach, an improved economy guarantees Media Studies and a Master of Arts in Journalism and Media Studies
a d v e r t i s e rs a n d l i f e b l o o d f o r t h e m e d i a . from Rhodes University, South Africa. Stanley has diverse work
experience spanning across the academia, the development sector
Conclusion and private sector. He has research interests in media and democracy;
Media and Elections and Media, conflict and peace. He can be
accessed on tsarwes@gmail.com
This paper contextualises the Zimbabwean media’s reportage
of three momentous occasions in Zimbabwe’s political history:
12 C H A N G E O F G U A R D • Z I M B A B W E M E D I A : M U G A B E T O M N A N G A G W A T R A N S I T I O NMedia structures and news
production
The channels of expression in Zimbabwe, particularly
the country’s mainstream media are in a few hands.
On the surface, there seems to be semblance of plurality
in Zimbabwe’s print and electronic media. There are
also encouraging signs of enhanced access to the
internet and increased uptake of social media. While
this helicopter view of the Zimbabwean media suggests
the existence of multiple platforms for citizens to
express themselves and to access information, the
grim reality is that the Zimbabwean government is
directly and indirectly in control of the country’s main
channels of expression, especially the
mainstream media.
I argue that the only way the Zimbabwean media can
comprehensively cover elections in a fair, accurate, credible
and balanced manner is to transform the ownership structures,
which are concentrated in a few hands.
I strongly recommend that all state owned media must be
transformed not only to fulfil its constitutional obligations but
to restore public trust and confidence in the mainstream media
and the licencing of community broadcasting stations.
This article analyses the country’s media political economy and
assess how this impacted on the coverage of the July 30 2018
general elections.
Public, private ownership
Zimbabwe’s print media is structured along a dichotomy of
state-owned/controlled and private media, in a manner that
has not changed since the turn of the millennium. Government
has controlling stake of the widest circulating newspapers in
the country, all of which fall under the Zimbabwe Newspapers
(1980) Limited, Zimpapers. In addition, Zimpapers runs four
radio stations, one national and three regional stations and
was recently awarded with a television license. Their main
competitors in the print sector include Associated Newspapers
Zimbabwe (ANZ) and Alpha Media Holdings (AMH) both of
which publish daily and weekly newspapers.
Graphics by Media Monitors
C H A N G E O F G U A R D • Z I M B A B W E M E D I A : M U G A B E T O M N A N G A G W A T R A N S I T I O N 13Beyond the government’s controlling stake in Zimpapers, the and not professional. One cannot then expect these editors
state has 100% ownership and control of the Zimbabwe to suddenly trade their political hats for the professional one
Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), which runs the country’s sole during the electoral period.
free to air television station Zimbabwe Television (ZTV) as well
as 6 radio stations. The other main radio broadcasting player, If anything, these editors would be under pressure to
AB Communications is owned by former Information demonstrate their loyalty to the conflated state and party
Communication Technologies (ICT) Minister and the ruling system both in their editorial content and indeed in other
party the Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front spheres of their lives. During the 2018 elections, most
(ZANU PF) Central Committee member Supa Mandiwanzira. mainstream editors from the public media would often publicly
Like AB Communications, the remaining regional privately show their allegiance to the ruling party by openly and
owned stations are all owned by individuals with links to either unapologetically posting pictures wearing regalia associated
the government or ZANU PF. with the party. This unprofessional and illegal behaviour -
according to electoral statutes that govern media conduct in
Same pattern Zimbabwe - was translated in the content that was produced
during the electoral period.
The net result of this structure is that media performance in
the 2018 elections has followed similar patterns to trends The private media, which as discussed in this paper only exists
observed in previous elections. For example, following the in name in the electronic media but more operational in the
elections in 2013, the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC), print media, at least for now, offered much more space to the
which was part of the Electoral Commission’s Media Monitoring opposition. This could probably have been a business decision
Committee, concluded that, “the media has neither been fair, on their part, given that most private newspapers circulate in
objective or factual in the coverage of political parties and areas that are dominated by the opposition. In any case, the
players.” open bias towards the conflated ruling party and government
by the state-controlled media created a ‘market space’ for the
While the environment has shifted slightly, with the entry of opposition and their sympathisers. This to a large extent has
new radio stations that did not cover previous elections in polarised the country’s media.
Zimbabwe and less hate speech compared to the previous
elections augmented by positive media policy pronouncements; One area in which this polarisation was evident during the
the media in 2018 still did not present a fair, objective and 2018 elections was the coverage of the electoral commission
accurate representation of political parties and players. by both the state-controlled and private media. Whereas, the
private media by and large portrayed the Zimbabwe Electoral
One of the reasons why the Zimbabwean media perpetually Commission (ZEC) in a negative manner, often amplifying the
fail to meet the professional and legal obligations has been rigging allegations propagated by the opposition, the state-
the conflation of the state and the ruling party. There is little controlled media were a lot more sympathetic to the
to none distinction between government and the ruling party. Commission.
As such, state owned media, whose operations are time and
again funded by taxpayers, have an editorial inclination of As a result, coverage of key electoral processes including
supporting the ruling party. Zimbabwe’s state controlled media unpacking for media audiences the capacities and inadequacies
has pretty much normalised this, to the extent that it only of the electoral commission and the net effect of that on the
worsens during the electoral period. results. It was almost as if both the private and public media
did not go beyond what would have been said by opposition
No buffers politicians in the case of the private media or by ZEC in the
case of the state controlled media.
But perhaps even more significantly, there is no buffer between
the government and the state controlled media. The Mass Against this gloomy picture of the Zimbabwean political
Media Trust, which was unlawfully disbanded, used to be one economy of the media, it is necessary that there be urgent
such body that would ensure that there would at least be reforms if the obtaining state of affairs is to improve in 2023.
subtle and indirect interference by government in the operations
of Zimpapers. Advocacy for reform
As it is, the individuals that call the shots at the Ministry of The recommendations will focus on how the state-owned
Information are very influential in the editorial appointments media ownership structures ought to be transformed.
of Zimpapers. This effectively makes these appointments political Firstly, there is need to restore the Mass Media Trust that will
14 C H A N G E O F G U A R D • Z I M B A B W E M E D I A : M U G A B E T O M N A N G A G W A T R A N S I T I O Nact as a go between the government and media organisations
under the Zimpapers stable. The Trust should be composed of
professionals that have a proven track record in the media
industry and are adequately equipped to defend the editorial
independence of the Zimpapers in the public interest. The
Zimpapers group must report to the Trust and not to the
Minister of Information and the same should apply to the Chief
Executive and the editorial team. During elections and beyond,
aggrieved political parties should be able to hold Zimpapers
to account with redress.
Secondly there is need to transform the state controlled
Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) into a public service
broadcaster.
Legislation that establishes the ZBC, including but not limited
to the ZBC Commercialisation Act must be repealed to usher
in a new framework for the establishment of a public broadcaster
that is not answerable to government but accountable to the BY NIGEL NYA M UT UM BU
public in a transparent manner. Appointments to the ZBC
Board must be on merit and conducted through Parliament in Nigel Nyamutumbu is a media development practitioner, currently
serving as the Media Alliance of Zimbabwe (MAZ) Programs Manager.
a transparent manner. If it is during an electoral period, the
He can be contacted on +263 772 501 557 or njnya2@gmail.com
ZBC should publicise their schedules, not only to ZEC as required
by the law but to the public as a proactive disclosure
of information.
Finally, Zimbabwe needs community broadcasters that are can
cater for societal needs and further develop the country’s
media. Community broadcasting is not driven by profit and
is sustained at a local level or by the interest groups and as
such is strategic to counter the shortcomings of the mainstream
media.
Genuine community broadcasters are independent of the state
and can protect citizens from commercially driven interest that
drive the private media.
C H A N G E O F G U A R D • Z I M B A B W E M E D I A : M U G A B E T O M N A N G A G W A T R A N S I T I O N 15Quality of reporting during the
military transition
...and the comrades who marched to a new tune
Picture Credit: Google Images
Between November 14 and 24 2017, Zimbabwean media The November 2017 transition affected all Zimbabweans
operated under strange circumstances. The military differently. It was the media’s duty to make sure they captured
temporarily took over the country from President Robert varying reactions and perspectives on the issue. This was however
Mugabe before he resigned and ceded power to his not the case in the local media’s reports. The voices of politicians
exiled former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa. dominated news coverage during the military intervention, they
made up 44% of the recorded sources ahead of private citizens
Zimbabwe was experiencing a rare phenomenon that needed (16%). The army, which led the transition, accounted for 11%
to be documented comprehensively. This paper assesses the of the sources recorded followed by foreign envoys (6%) and
quality of reportage exhibited by the local mainstream media analysts (4%).
during this transition.
Ideally, the voices of analysts should have been enlisted to
Heavy censorship on all local media platforms interpret possible meanings and outcomes of events to the
public. As it was, the transition was presented in the media
The nature of reporting in the mainstream media appeared to through the eyes of politicians, the military and citizens.
be driven by fear as indicated by the increased censorship in the
mainstream media. It seemed as though there was an invisible Overall, sources from ZANU PF dominated views on the military
hand influencing how the media was reporting on the events intervention. They made up 78% of the voices quoted in local
that occurred during this period. print and electronic media. This was probably because, Party
bigwig, Patrick Chinamasa had declared that the intervention
More critical information about what was happening in Harare was an internal ZANU PF process. He was quoted as
emanated from social media platforms and from the international having said;
media. It was peculiar that local traditional media platforms
were being scooped by social media platforms and international What happened today has nothing to do with the
news agencies. This being a Zimbabwean development one opposition, it has nothing to do with the national
hoped the local media would dictate the pace as to how the government, we are cleansing our own party… We
intervention was covered. were correcting our own mess, we have the majority
Lack of diversity in voices quoted during the transition in Parliament, we can expel the President alone and
16 C H A N G E O F G U A R D • Z I M B A B W E M E D I A : M U G A B E T O M N A N G A G W A T R A N S I T I O NYou can also read
